A Glimpse at “The Mystery of the Holy Light” written by Anna Iakovou and illustrated by Spyros Gousis

Every year, to our great joy, we receive the Light of Christ at Pascha. We receive a flame for our Pascha candle in church from our priest, during the Paschal liturgy. But Christ’s Light comes of its own accord each year in Jerusalem, at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. We call this the Miracle of the Holy Fire, and it happens every Holy Saturday. 

Have you ever thought about this miracle and wondered what it is like when the Holy Fire descends and fills the Sepulcher? Have you ever wished that you could be right inside there with the Patriarch as he receives that Holy Fire, the Light of Christ? If so, you’re not alone: almost 100 years ago, someone else was wondering the very same thing…

The Mystery of the Holy Light, written by Anna Iakovou, and illustrated by Spyros Gousis, tells the story of a young monk who wished to see the Holy Fire arrive! The monk was named Father Mitrophanes, and it was his job to guard the Holy Sepulcher. Father Mitrophanes was very humble and did not feel worthy of doing this work, but he did it to the best of his ability, even going above and beyond what was required. When an accident inside the tomb of Christ required cleanup, he noticed that the ceiling of the sepulcher was covered in soot from years of candles burning! Fr. Mitrophanes received a blessing to go into the Sepulcher and carefully clean the soot off so that none of it would fall onto the marble slab where Our Lord lay, and ruin it. Beneath the soot, to everyone’s surprise, Fr. discovered something incredibly beautiful! He also found a hidden niche high in the sepulcher wall that could maybe help him fulfill his heart’s desire to see the Holy Fire descend. 

Read this book to find out what beautiful thing Father Mitrophanes discovered beneath the soot, and whether or not his heart’s desire was fulfilled. Based on a true story that happened in 1926.

Adults and older children alike will enjoy this story, and younger children will be drawn to its illustrations but may need help with some of the wording. 

Find The Mystery of the Holy Light, by Anna Iakovou, illustrated by Spyros Gousis, here: https://newromepress.com/the-mystery-of-the-holy-light/ 

We thank Newrome Press for sharing this book with us, so that we can share it with you. 

Reviewed by Kristina Wenger, educator, podcaster, co-author of Tending the Garden of Our Hearts.

Gleanings from a Book: “Spyridon’s Shoes” by Christine Rogers

Christine Rogers’ new book, “Spyridon’s Shoes” is a comfortable fit for its readers. The language is simple enough for mid-elementary-level readers to read on their own. The story line is intriguing, though, and will capture the attention of younger or older children as well as the adults who read this book.

Young Spyros’ family is hard-working, but nonetheless they experience one hardship after another. The book tells the story of how Spyros (a nickname for Spyridon) and his family face each of their struggles with faith. It also reveals the ways in which God chooses to send help.

The grandfatherly man who arrives and helps Spyros when he badly cuts his foot early in the story is, interestingly enough, also named Spyridon. Spyros offers to call the grandfather “Abba” and the man accepts that nickname. After the first meeting, Abba continues to show up in Spyros’ life, helping him as needed and inspiring him to do what is right. It takes the reader almost the entirety of the book to realize that “Abba” is actually Saint Spyridon himself, appearing to and physically assisting his young namesake who truly needs his help.

Although “Spyridon’s Shoes” is a work of fiction, it is a highly believable and delightful read. This book very naturally shares much of the wisdom of St. Spyridon, challenging readers to growth in their own Christian walk, without the reader feeling at all that they are being preached at by anyone. It incorporates some true stories of ways in which God has used St. Spyridon in the lives of those who have asked for (and received) his help. The book offers a glimpse into the saint’s real life on earth, within the context of a fictitious story.

Besides the story itself, there are a few extras that make this book so helpful to its readers. Vladimir Ilievski’s cover and occasional illustrations throughout the book are true to the story, giving readers a face for each Spyridon, while also bringing to life the setting on Corfu. The pages about St. Spyridon himself, found near the end of the book, help readers to learn even more about this wonderful saint. His troparion and icon are at the end of the book, for those who wish to ask for his prayers and see his icon.

This book is an enjoyable read for young and old alike. If you choose to read this book to your Sunday Church School students, it will probably take two or more class periods to finish, but your students will be engrossed in the story, and they won’t mind at all. Children will resonate with Spyros and love his story so much that they will probably ask to borrow the book when you finish, so that they can slip back into the story, re-reading it on their own. Just like St. Spyridon’s shoes, this book will be well-worn by the classes that own it. We can’t help hoping that Christine Rogers writes more books!

 

Purchase your own copy of “Spyridon’s Shoes” (available in paperback or ebook) here: https://store.ancientfaith.com/spyridons-shoes/

Here are some gleanings from the book (mostly quotes from “Abba”/St. Spyridon, so as not to give away any of  the story line), as well as a few additional resources that you may find helpful if you choose to teach your Sunday Church School class a lesson about the saint:

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“‘Prayer is our link to God, young Spyros. We should give our problems, whatever they are, to God, as we say in the Divine Liturgy that we “commend our whole life to Christ our God”.’ Abba stopped to cross himself and readjust his position on the boulder. ‘We leave everything to the Lord. Whatever He wills… Prayer is beneficial for everything, even the simplest things.’” (p. 33, “Spyridon’s Shoes”, by Christine Rogers)

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“Abba looked out over the waves. ‘With God, as with people, we seek to form a relationship, a friendship. The more you converse with God, which is what prayer is, the more natural it will become. Like speaking to an old friend.’

‘Like you, Abba,’ Spyros said, smiling.

Abba chuckled. ‘You are so young to have such old friends.’” (pp. 55-56, “Spyridon’s Shoes”, by Christine Rogers)

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“Father Theodore nodded. ‘You can pray to Saint Spyridon too and ask for his prayers. The saints in heaven, they are there with Christ, surrounded by His love and interceding for those of us on earth. Their prayers are great gifts.’” (p. 88, “Spyridon’s Shoes”, by Christine Rogers)

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“The miracles Spyros and his family learned about are all true. Saint Spyridon’s shoes continue to wear out every year, even to this day, and they are replaced on his feast day, which is December 12. The worn-out shoes are sent to churches all over the world, and many miracles are worked for the faithful who venerate them.” (p. 99, “Spyridon’s Shoes”, by Christine Rogers)

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St. Spyridon was present at the first ecumenical council. Around that time, he used a brick to demonstrate the unity of the Trinity. He held the brick in his hand and then squeezed it. Miraculously, fire shot up from it, water dripped out of it onto the ground, and then all that was left in his hand was dust. “There was only one brick,” Saint Spyridon said, “but it was composed of three elements. In the Holy Trinity there are three Persons, but only one God.” Read this and more about the life of St. Spyridon, including many miracles worked in his lifetime, here: https://oca.org/saints/lives/2000/12/12/103526-st-spyridon-the-wonderworker-and-bishop-of-tremithus

If you choose to share this story from St. Spyridon’s life with your students, you may want to bring a brick to class and invite them to hold it and see if there’s anything they can squeeze out of it before (and again after) sharing the story with you.

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Teachers of young children may want to read the Potamitis Publishing book “Saint Spyridon: the Miracle with the Clay Tile” with their students. http://orthodoxchildrensbooks.com/eng/index.php/Books-in-English/Paterikon-for-Kids-Saint-Spyridon-and-the-Horses/flypage-ask.tpl.html

After reading the book, you could make this craft. It uses three ingredients to make a “potsherd/brick” ornament, on which your students can draw the saint. It will remind your students of how St. Spyridon used a brick to demonstrate the Holy Trinity: http://www.theorthodoxchildrenspress.com/diy-kids/tocp-diy-family-st-spyridon-clay-ornament/

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Listen to the accounts of several miracles of St. Spyridon, recounted by Fr. Peter Shapiro, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9iWjfYTzBM

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If you read “Spyridon’s Shoes” with your class and share some other stories from St. Spyridon’s life and miracles with them, you might find this reproducible page helpful. It allows children to recall some of the things St. Spyridon has done to serve and help others. It then invites them to consider how they themselves can “wear out their shoes” by serving and helping people around them.

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After a lesson on St. Spyridon, you may wish to pray this prayer (also found at the end of the akathist hymn to him) with your class: “O great and all-marvellous Spyridon, holy hierarch of Christ and wonderworker, boast of Kerkyra [Corfu], most radiant beacon of the whole world, fervent intercessor before God and speedy helper for all who have recourse to you and entreat you with faith! Amid the Fathers at the Council of Nicea you expounded the Orthodox faith most gloriously; you showed the unity of the Holy Trinity with wondrous power, and utterly put the heretics to shame. Hearken, therefore, unto us sinners who entreat you, O holy hierarch of Christ, and by your mighty intercession before the Lord deliver us from every evil circumstance…To many living in dire poverty and want you rendered assistance; you abundantly sustained the poor during famine and performed many other signs through the power of the Spirit of God living within you. Wherefore, forsake us not, O holy hierarch of Christ. Remember us, your children, at the throne of the Ruler of all, and beseech the Lord that He grant us remission of our manifold sins, that He bestow upon us a peaceful life unbeset by misfortunes, that He vouchsafe unto us a tranquil and unashamed end and everlasting blessedness in the age to come, that we may unceasingly send up glory and thanksgiving to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and to ages of ages. Amen.”

 

 

Learning About a Saint: St. Kendeas (Commemorated Oct. 6/19)

St. Kendeas, who lived sometime between the 7th and 10th centuries, was born in the Alemanni region (part of today’s Germany). When he was 18, he became a monk in Palestine, near the Jrdan River. He lived there in a cave, spending his days in prayer and fasting. While he was there, a rich man nearby was trying very hard to find a way to heal his possessed child. He spent a lot of his money trying to help his child. When he heard about the monks who lived by the Jordan, he took his child to one of them, named Ananaias. God told the monk Ananaias to send the child to the monk Kendeas. Kendeas prayed, and the child was healed!

After that miracle, Kendeas became known in the area. He was made the Metropolitan of Jerusalem, and served in that role for a while. He missed living as a monastic, though, so a few years later he went back to the cave to live.

Some people came to the monks to be healed, but many others came to steal things from the monks. Being robbed so often became frustrating to the monks. Eventually the monks left that area and traveled to the island of Cyprus, to live there instead. The seas were terribly rough as they traveled, and their ship broke into two pieces! But Kendeas and the others walked on the water and arrived safely at the shore. Kendeas ended up in the Paphos region of Cyprus. Another monk, his friend Jonas, went on to Salamina.

After a few years, Kendeas went to Salamina to visit his friend Jonas. Along the way, Kendeas found a cave near the village of Avgorou. He went inside the cave. He liked it so much that he promised God that he would stay there until he died. However, Kendeas was so hot that he knelt down on a rock inside the cave and prayed for water. He also prayed to see his friend Jonas. Two miracles happened because of his prayers: clear water began to pour from the rock, and a cloud full of light carried Jonas to Kendeas, to visit him! The two friends were so happy to see each other again, and they enjoyed talking together. After a while, the cloud took Jonas back to Salamina.

The people in the neighborhood saw that water was coming from the rock in the cave. They knew that there had not been water coming from there before, and they wondered about it. They asked Kendeas how it got there. When they found out that his prayers were so powerful that he could pray and have water pour out of a rock, the people began to bring sick people to him so that he could pray for them and heal them!

Kendeas lived in his cave for a long time. During the time that he lived there, there was a long stretch of time when there was no rain on Cyprus. When there’s not enough rain, we call it a “drought.” This drought on Cyprus went on for 17 years. Finally the people begged Kendeas to pray for rain. He told them all to go home! When they were home, he held his hands up in the air and began to pray for rain. Right away, clouds gathered, and it rained and rained!

Kendeas did not like to be comfortable. You might have guessed this because he chose to live in a cave instead of a house. But there was something else that he did so that he would not be too comfortable. Beginning when he was a child, Kendeas did not sleep in a bed. He slept instead on the ground.

One day when some of the people of Cyprus brought their sick family and friends to Kendeas to ask for his prayers for healing, they discovered that he had departed this life. His body was still there in his cave, and it smelled miraculously beautiful, like heavenly flowers. The people buried Kendeas right there in his cave.

A church was built in the area of his cave after he died, and a monastery, too. Today, the nuns in the monastery continue St. Kendeas’ work of caring for the sick. The water from his miracle prayer still pours out of the stone in the cave.

St. Kendeas’ miracle working did not stop when he died. He continues to pray for people, and God hears his prayers and heals them. He also often appears to people. Many people who live in the area have seen him, especially the nuns who live in the monastery. But the people who meet him are not afraid, even if they do not know who he is. He is so friendly, that if people meet him who do not know him, he just introduces himself!

St. Kendeas is celebrated on October 6/19. Holy St. Kendeas, please pray for our salvation!

Source: http://www.ayiosnektarios.co.uk/stkendeas/stkendeas.htm

 

Troparion to Saint Kendeas

Having hallowed through struggles the Jordan wilderness and the island of Cyprus,

You shone out upon all through remarkable battles as a fixed star.

Therefore, having seen the fullness of your wonders,

O God-bearing Kendeas, we lift our voices:

Glory to You, O Christ, through him who extols.

Glory to You through him who magnifies.

Glory to the One who through you heals illnesses for all.

Here are some related links that you may find helpful as you plan a Sunday Church School lesson about St. Kendeas:

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Teachers of young students, Paterikon for Kids has just released a new, perfectly-child-sized book about St. Kendeas. Sweetly illustrated, it tells many of the stories from his life in a way that children can easily understand. The book is written by Dr. Chrissi Hart. http://orthodoxchildrensbooks.com/eng/index.php/Paterikon-for-Kids-81-86-NEW/87-Paterikon-for-Kids-Saint-Kendeas/flypage-ask.tpl.html

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Teachers of middle years or older students, “Under the Grapevine” is a picture book by Dr. Chrissi Hart. It tells the true story of how her grandmother was healed by St. Kendeas under the grapevine at her family farm. The book is no longer in print, but is still available here: https://www.amazon.com/Under-Grapevine-Miracle-Kendeas-Cyprus/dp/1888212845

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Listen to Dr. Hart read the story of her grandmother’s healing in the first episode of her podcast “Under the Grapevine,” here: https://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/grapevine/readings_from_under_the_grapevine_program_1

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Here’s an idea of a way to help children learn more about St. Kendeas: http://orthodoxyforkids.blogspot.com/2014/10/st-kendeas-of-cyprus.html

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If your class studies the life of St. Kendeas, you may want to invite each student to think of someone who they know who would benefit from a visit with the saint. Let each student draw/write about the person on this printable pdf. Take some time to pray and ask St. Kendeas to pray for those friends and family members.

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Studying the life of St. Kendeas could be a great segue into studying monasticism. Here are a series of lessons on monasticism for ages 4-6. http://dce.oca.org/assets/files/focus-units/Monasticism4-6.pdf

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Students of all ages will enjoy hearing this recent account of another miracle through the prayers of St. Kendeas: http://www.chrissihart.com/2010/10/saint-kendeas-feast-day-2/ Glory to God in His saints!

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On Miracles That God Performs Through Icons

Icons are windows to heaven. We have them in our churches, we have them in our homes, and perhaps in our car/locker/workspace/elsewhere as well. They are in these places as visual reminders of Truth. Icons remind us of the power of God at work, either through the written images of Christ Himself or of those gone before us who have followed Him completely and became saints. They help us to better understand the scriptures and to better connect with the person/people written on them. Icons draw us to God by virtue of their beauty, the stories of faithfulness they represent, the Scriptures they unveil. It is a miracle that something so simple as a prayerfully-written icon can do so much to help us on our journey toward Him.

Occasionally, God chooses to move beyond that sense of “being drawn,” and to work other miracles through them. The purpose of this blog post is to help each of us to learn about some of the icons He is using in this way (or has recently used in this way), and to read the stories of miracles wrought through them. It is our hope that this post will be encouraging and help each of us to be aware of how God is at work through icons. These stories will also encourage our students, as we share the stories with them.

There are several ways that you could share these miracles with your Sunday Church School Students. One of these accounts could be shared as your students are eating their snack (if you have Church School right after Liturgy), each week for a period of weeks. Or perhaps you could share one at the beginning or end of every class for a season. Perhaps you would prefer to teach a lesson about miracles wrought through icons and wish to select several of the stories to study in a lesson or series of lessons. It is up to you how you utilize these stories. Please consider sharing them with your students! Children are naturally full of wonder, and will benefit from knowing these amazing ways in which God is at work through holy icons.

 

Here are a few examples of miracle-working icons and their stories which you may wish to share with your students:

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What would you or your students do if some of the icons in your prayer corner miraculously began streaming myrrh? Read this account by Subdeacon Nectarios himself, of what happened in his home. In the account, you’ll read about two streaming icons (each with different-smelling myrrh), a cat, a “doubting Thomas” who ends up with a mouthful of “proof,” and a few of the miracles that the miraculous myrrh have wrought. Glory to God! http://www.orthodoxhawaii.org/icons.html

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The Kardiotissa Icon of the Mother of God, at St. George Orthodox Church in Taylor, Pennsylvania, has been exuding myrrh ever since it was anointed with the myrrh of the Hawaiian Iveron icon in October of 2011. Many, many lives have been changed as a result. Share some of the miracles that have happened, as accounted in this homily, with your students: http://www.schwebster.org/sermons/2014-sermons/the-miracles-and-wonders-of-god-the-crying-icon-of-taylor-pa

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Begin a discussion with your older students about different kinds of healing (physical vs spiritual) by reading them this quote (and perhaps the entire article): “Over the past ten years there have been many miracles; some I’ve heard about and some I haven’t. There have been many physical healings, external, and there have also been many spiritual, inner healings. Through this Icon many of the faithful have experienced radical transformations in their lives. It’s as if people become liberated from the ‘old man’ and ardently strive towards God.  When the Icon is present in various churches, monasteries and homes, one senses a renewal of love for the Mother of God; almost immediately many people approach for confession, spiritually reborn through a feeling of repentance.  I’d like to say that the Mother of God helps our believers sense their sinfulness before Her Son, Jesus Christ.”

Read this and more of the story and miracles of the copy of the Iveron icon of the Mother of God (the same one whose copy was sent to Hawaii and began myrrh streaming there, and when that one in turn visited the Kardiotissa icon in Pennsylvania it began exuding myrrh as well), which was brought to Canada from Mt. Athos by a Chilean convert to Orthodoxy here: http://www.roca.org/OA/120/120k.htm

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“One can go on for a very long time listing the different holy Icons of the Ever-Virgin Mary and Theotokos and all the wonderful countless miracles of our Panagia. It is, however, important for all Orthodox Christian believers to always seek the holy intercessions of the Mother of God and to turn to Her for aid, healing, comfort and salvation.” Read some of the miracles in this article: http://saintandrewgoc.org/home/2014/8/25/the-miraculous-icon-of-panagia-portraitissa-the-keeper-of-th.html. Ask your students if they have heard any other stories of times when God has worked miracles through an icon of the Theotokos. Then, spend some time praying and asking her to pray for you and your loved ones – and the whole world!

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Watch this 8-minute video that shows miracle after miracle, mostly related to icons, which God has granted through His Holy Orthodox Church. The video is set to parts of the Vespers service chanted by Eikona, and could be a wonder-filled way to end a class about miracle-working icons! (We recommend that you watch it before showing it to your students, however, so you know what they will see and can be prepared to answer related questions.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-AOO903CZA

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Throughout history, icons of the Mother of God have worked miracles. This article shares the commemoration days of many icons of the Theotokos, along with some of the stories of miracles attributed to those icons, set throughout history. These stories are not as recent as some of the above, but they are still miracles and well worth learning about! To read about an icon of the Theotokos and/or a miracle attributed to the icon, click on the month, then which of the days of that month you’d like to read about: https://oca.org/saints/icons-mother-of-god. In order to learn about more of them, consider allowing each student to select a different one to learn about and share their learnings with the rest of the class. (You will need to plan ahead and print things out, unless you have internet access in class or you give the students the assignment to bring back on a different Sunday.)

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“Venerating a miracle is also a way of acknowledging the importance of its context. A weeping icon is amazing, but it’s obviously not meant to distract attention away from the liturgical, sacramental, and doctrinal life of the Church. If anything, a miracle should amplify the importance of Church practices and teaching, for the God who causes the miracle is also the God who established these as markers of his ‘new and everlasting covenant’ with mankind.” Read more about responding to miracles wrought through icons in this article:  http://myocn.net/miracle-greece-weeping-icon-mean/. After reading the article, be sure to discuss it with your students so that they know how best to respond to any miraculous events they may experience that are associated with icons.